Laundry appliance



June 3.4, QBZ. J, G, FEHN z LAUNDRY APPLIANCE Filed Sept. l0, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet l Jin/MEW y y Mar/:54515 June E4, J. G. FEHN 1,862,618

LAUNDRY APPLIANCE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. lO, 1928 Patented June 14, 1932 'UNITED STATES JOHN G. FEHN, OF DES MOINES, IOWA LAUNDRY APPLIANCE Application led September 10, 1928. Serial No. 304,895.

The object of my invention is to provide :a laundry appliance of simple, durable and comparatively inexpensive construction.

A further object of my invention is to provide a laundry appliance adapted to support a washing machine, tubs, clothes basket, etc., in a convenient arrangement for facilitating washing operations performed upon clothing.

More particularly it is my object to provide a base adapted to be anchored to a floor with a revoluble head thereon having arms supported by the head, a washing machine being supported by one of the arms and tubs being supported by the other arms, the arms themselves being hollow and adapted to receive liquid from the washing machine and the tubs and conduct it into the base from which it may be drained through a drain trap located below the base.

Still a further object is to provide the supporting arms pivotally mounted on the revolving head so that the tubs and the washing machine may be brought to position adjacent each other as desired.

Still a further object is to provide a clothes basket support mounted upon the head between the washing machine and the tubs.

Another object of my invention is to provide a washing machine support of such construction that the washing machine may be rotatably mounted thereon for being turned to various positions as requiredduring the washing operations.

Still a further object is to provide a heating means associated with the base and adapted to heat either the washing machine or the tubs which may be brought to position thereabove by rota-ting the head.

Still a further obj ect is to provide the heating means of novel construction whereby in one position it may be lowered out of the way and in another position it may be raised for heating the washing machine or tubs and in such raised position, the gas or other fuel admitted thereto will be automatically turned on.

With these and other objects in view my invention consists in the construction, arrangement and combination of the various parts of my device, whereby the objects contemplated are attained, as hereinafter more fully set forth, pointed out in my claims, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings,v in which:

Figure 1 is a plan View of my laundry appliance illustrating portions thereof moved to other positions than those shown in solid lines, such other positions being illustrated in dotted lines.

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view on the line 2 -2 of Figure l. Y

Figure 3 is an enlarged sectional view on the. line 3-3 of Figure 2 and illustrates the means for supporting one of the tubs of the device.

Figure 4 is an enlarged sectional view on the line 4Lt of Figure 2.

Figure 5 is a side elevation of the device illustrating only the washing machine supporting arm and a basket in connection with the device.

Figure 6 is a sectional view on the line 66 of Figure l, illustrating a side elevation of the heating means when in raised position.

Figure 7 is an enlarged sectional view on the line 7 7 of Figure 6 and Figure 8 is a sectional view on the line 8*8 of Figure 7.

On the accompanying drawings I have 8o used t-he reference character A to indicate a base preferably of hollow construction. The base A is supported on a floor 10 and may be secured thereto by means of bolts or lag screws 12.

A drain trap 14 is mounted below the base A and located on the vertical center thereof. The floor 10 is preferably sloped as indicated at 16 toward the drain trap 14.

The base A is of tubular construction and a head 18 is rotatably supported therein. The head 18 is provided with an outwardly eX- tending flange 2O between which flange and the top of the base A, thrust balls 22 may be interposed so that the head may rotate freely.

The head 18 may be locked in any desired position by means of a set screw 24. Openings 26 are provided in the head 18 for receiving downwardly extending tubular portions 28 of supporting arms B. Thus the sup- 100 porting arms B are pivotally mounted with respect to the head 18. The. upper ends of two of the arms B are provided with armlike projections 30 and 32 for supporting wash tubs 34. The tubs 34 are supported on inwardly projecting flanges 36 of supporting rinfrs 38. The rings 38 are secured to the armlizke projections 30 and 32 as clearly illustrated in Figure 3 of the drawings.

The arms B are provided with passageways 40 formed by makingthe arms of hollow construction. Each tub 34 is provided with a. drain spout 42 adapted to kbe positioned in the upper end of the passage 40.

A removable plug 44 is provided for closingthe spout 42.

From the construction of the parts thus far described, it will be obvious that whenever it is desirable to empty water from "either of the tubs 34, it is merely, necessary to remove the plug 44 so that the water will run through the supporting arm B and into the base A from which it drains into the drain trap 14.

Anv opening 46 is providedpin the top of the head 18 and a socket 48 is formed among the openings 26 to receive the lower end of a rod 50. A platform 52 is secured to the upper end of the rod 50 to form a support for a clothes basket 54 shown in dotted lines in Figure 5.

The third arm B, best illustrated in Figure 5 of the drawings, supports a ring 54 similar to the rings 38 and having a iiange 56 corresponding to the flanges 36 of the rings 38. The arm B for the ring 54 is of slightly different shape than the other arms B but the upper end thereof has the. same manner of connection to the ring 54 as shown in Figure 3 of the drawings.

A washing machine C is supported on the ring 54 which forms an annular track for the machine. The washing machine C consists of a tub 58 having rollers 60 mounted thereon and adapted to travel on the annular track formed by the flange 56. Thus the washing machine C can be rotated for a purpose which will hereinafter appear.

The arm B supporting the washing machine C is hollow (the same as the other arms) for receiving water from a drain faucet 62 on the bottom of the tub 58. The mechanism of the washing machine forms no part of my present invention but is shown merely by way of illustration, the wringer being shown at 64, gearing mechanism casing at 66 and operating motor at 68.

Due to the weight of the washing machine, it is desirable to have additional means other than the supporting arm B for supporting the ring 54. On my drawings I have illustrated a brace 7 O secured to an ear 72 formed on a downwardly extending arm of the head 18. The brace 7 0 is preferably bifurcated at its outer endl so as to haveits outer diverging ends secured to the track 54 at spaced points. Thus plenty of room is left between the two diverging arms of the brace for the casing 66 and motor 68 to rotate whenever the washing machine C is rotated.

The brace 70 provides a substantial support for the washing machine C and is necessary to rigidly support the machine which is considerably heavier than the tubs 34. In connection with my laundry appliance I providev a heater vconsisting of a burner 7 4 connected in such a manner that it may be moved to a lowered position as shown in Figures 1 and 5 of the drawings or to a raised position as shown in Figure 6 for heating either of the tubs 34l or the washing machine C.

The burner 74 is supported by piping 76 extending up through the floor 1() and out through an opening 78 in the side of the base A. On the upper end of the piping 76 is a head 8O having a tapered opening 82. A itting 84 snugly iits within the opening 82 and is screw threaded to receive a support-ing pipe arm 86 on the outer end of which the burner 74 is supported. A passageway 88 extends from the central passageway 90 to one surface of the fitting 84 within the opening 82 whereby when the burner 74 is in raised position gas or other fuel may pass from the pipe 76` through the fitting 84 and into the burner 7 4. When the burner 74 is in' lowered position as illustrated in Figures 1 and 5, the passageway 88 is out of alignment with the pasageway 92 as shown in dotted lines in Figure 8 so that the gas supply is automatically shut oil whenever it is desirable to move the heating device out of the way as for instance when it is not in use for heating water.

For holding the burner 74 in raised position I provide an arm 94 on the head 80 with which a latch 96 may coact when the burner is in raised'position. The latch 96 is of the spring pressed type and is mounted in a itting 98 secured to the supporting pipe 86 by a set screw 100. In order to lower the burner 74 it is merely necessary to engage the knob 102 on the latch 9G and move it in the direction of the arrow 104 whereupon the burner is allowed to swing downwardly.

1When in raised position, gas is automatically admitted to the burner and when the burner is in lowered position such gas is automatically shut off,

From the description of my invention it may be seen that I have provided a laundry appliance in which all the various articles used during the process of washing clothing, are arranged in such a manner that the clothing may conveniently be transferred from one to the other without having to carry it any distance. The tubs 34 may be swung to position adj aeent each other as shown in dotted lines in Figure 1 or either tub may be swung adjacent the washing machine C as desired.

The washing machine may then be rotated so that the wringer 64 may be used for the purpose of wringing clothes as they are tra-nsferred from the washing machine to the tubs or vice versa. The central platform 52 forms a convenient support for the clothes basket 54 and the wringer 64 may be utilized for wringing clothes as they are transferred from the washing machine to the clothes basket if desired.

Also the wringer being swingably mounted in the usual manner and the washing machine being rotatably mounted, enables the use of the wringer between the clothes basket and one of the tubs. The head 20 being rotatably mounted enables the operator to position either of the tubs 34 or the washing machine C above the burner 74. Whenever it is desired to drain water from the washing machine C, it may be rotated upon the annular track 54 until the faucet 62 registers with the supporting arm B.

If found desirable from a manufacturing standpoint, the supporting arm B for the washing machine C may be pivotally instead of stationarily mounted upon the head 20.

The hot and cold water pipes usually provided in connection with a laundry room may be brought to the appliance from above. The control faucets would then be located just above the center of the appliance and Within easy reach of the operator.

A flexible hose extending from the faucets could serve as a convenient means for conducting the water from the faucets to either of the tubs 34 or the washing machine C.

Other changes may be also made in the actual construction and arrangement of the parts of my device without departing from the real spirit and purpose of my inventionand it is my intention to cover by my claims, any modified forms of structure or use of mechanical equivalents, which may be reasonably included Within their scope.

I claim as my invention:

l. A laundry appliance comprising a base, an arm extending laterally from one side thereof, container supporting means on the outer end of said arm, said means including an annular track, and a container carried by said annular track for rotary movement relative thereto, said container being provided with a drain opening, said arm comprising a liquid conductor adapted to receive liquid from said drain opening and discharge such liquid within said base, the rotary movement of said container permitting its drain opening to be brought into register with the upper end of said arm.

2. In a laundry appliance, a hollow base, a head mounted on and substantially covering said base and having vertical openings, radial arms having vertical portions pivotally mounted in said openings, and container supports on the outer ends of said arms, said arms being hollow for receiving liquid from containers on said supports having drain openings in their bottoms and discharging it into said base.

3. A laundry appliance of the character described, comprising a base, a plurality of supey porting arms each having a vertical portion1 pivotally engaging within said base and also aving a laterally extending portion, a container mounted on the laterally extending portion of each arm, whereby said arms may be swung on their vertical portions as pivots for selectively positioning the respective containers to discharge clothes from one to another, said base and arms being hollow to receive fluid discharged from the bottoms of the containers.

4. A laundry appliance comprising an upright tubular base, a cap-like head mounted on and substantially enclosing the upper end of said base, a plurality of supporting arms each having a vertical part pivotally mounted in said head and a part lateral thereto extending therefrom and projecting outwardly beyond the base, and containers carried by said last named parts.

5. A laundry appliance comprising an upright tubular base, a cap-like head mounted on and substantially enclosing the upper end of said base, said head being arranged for rotary adjustment relative to the base, a plurality of supporting arms each having a vertical part pivotally mounted in said head and a part lateral thereto, containers carried by said last named parts, and means for rotata.- bly adjusting said head on said base.

JOHN G. FEI-IN. 

